Wednesday, June 10, 2009

LEMON CHESTNUT CAKE & APRICOT COULIS

Last week, I was lucky to find the first French (Provence) apricots of the season at my local Migros supermarket. Those beautiful fruits were juicy, fragrant and had a melt-in-your-mouth flesh (absolutely not stringy nor mushy), so they deserved to get used with much respect and love...

I knew that I wanted to bake something special for my blog, but I didn't have a clue what I was going to make until I came across Good Food recipe which would enable me to finally try the chestnut flour my friend Corinne brought back for me from Tuscany...

As I wanted to create a colorful and lush dessert that would have an Italian, Mediterranean and summery touch by combining the flavors of lemon, apricot, chestnut and rosemary, I had the idea to serve Mary Cardogan's "Lemon, Crème Fraîche And Chestnut Cake" together with an "Apricot Rosemary Coulis" (a creation of my own).

Both elements pair brilliantly well in order to give a gluten-free dessert that is ambrosial, refreshing, yet not too heavy or sweet. Thanks to the use of sour cream as well as the incorporation of beaten egg whites, this cake is very airy/light and quite similar to a sponge cake, minus the dryness. Plus, I really love it's wonderful lemony and round smoky flavor. The apricot coulis adds some moisture, tang and an interesting rosemary aroma to the whole...

Perfect for the summer days, ideal for a picnic/party/potluck and easy to prepare!

Method for the "Lemon Chestnut Cake":1. Heat the oven to 180° C (350° F). Butter and line the base of a 20cm round cake tin.2. Put the egg yolks into a mixing bowl with the caster sugar and, using an electric whisk, beat for a 1-2 mins until light and creamy.3. Stir in the sour cream and lemon zest.4. Add the sifted flour and baking powder.5. In a separate bowl, whisk 4 egg whites until stiff, then fold into the cake mix using the whisk blades.6. Pour into the tin and bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake feels firm to the touch and a knife comes out clean.7. Remove the cake from the oven and cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a wire rack.8. Dust with icing sugar.Method for the "Apricot Rosemary Coulis":9. Put all the ingredients in a mediun pan.10. Cook over medium heat for about 10-15 minutes or until the apricots have "melted".11. Blend into a fine puree and sieve.12. Let cool and serve together with the cake.

Remarks:If you want a 100% gluten-free cake, then don't forget to use gluten-free baking powder.For the coulis, you can replace the apricots by peaches or nectarines.

Serving sugestions:Serve that speciality for afternoon tea or dessert.

Rosa, I love apricots and I could actually taste them as you described them. I would like to give the chestnut flour another try because I never liked the taste, maybe in this cake it won't overwhelm the other flavors.